Best Trading 212 alternatives in 2026

Having been around since 1978 and come through several financial crises, Interactive Brokers’ biggest advantage is its reputation. It is also listed on the NASDAQ (ticker: IBKR), which means it must publish its financial statements regularly.

Other important advantages of Interactive Brokers are its huge selection of products from over 150 markets, solid trade execution (IB SmartRouting), support for more than 20 currencies in a single account and over 100 currency pairs for exchange.

Its downsides are a complex fee structure, a longer than average account opening process and no commission-free trading for European investors (IBKR Lite is only available to US clients). The last point is largely offset by its narrow spreads and low FX fees.

There are two pricing plans, Tiered and Fixed, and fees vary by market. With Tiered pricing, fees fall as your monthly trading volume grows. You can see the full fee structure here.

Its desktop platform, Trader Workstation (TWS), offers many basic and advanced features, such as a demo account, watchlists, real-time alerts and advanced technical analysis tools, but the learning curve can be steep for beginners. IBKR Desktop is a newer, more modern alternative with a simpler interface.

The IBKR GlobalTrader mobile app is a much more intuitive choice for beginners, with stocks, ETFs and options in a user-friendly format, automatic currency conversion and fractional shares on US and European stocks and ETFs. There is also Client Portal, a web platform halfway between TWS and GlobalTrader in terms of features and ease of use.

Overall, Interactive Brokers is a good choice for beginners and advanced investors looking for a highly reputable broker and access to a very wide range of products. For more details, read our Interactive Brokers review.

Founded in 2007, regulated by top-tier authorities and with over 40 million registered users, eToro is one of the best-known brokers in the world, and it has been listed on the NASDAQ (ticker: ETOR) since May 2025. It is best known for social investing, which lets you follow and copy other investors’ trades and portfolios, but it also offers stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies and CFDs on stocks, ETFs, commodities, currencies and indices.

The platform is intuitive, well suited to beginners and includes a demo account with virtual funds. Opening an account and depositing funds are both quick. ETFs are commission-free (other fees apply), most stocks cost $1 per trade and the minimum deposit is $50 (it varies by country).

eToro’s best-known feature is CopyTrader, which lets you copy other investors’ trades in real time at no extra charge. It also offers Smart Portfolios, ready-made thematic portfolios, most of them managed by eToro’s investment team and some by partner firms.

The most common fees at eToro are:

• $1 commission per trade on most stocks;
• Currency conversion fees when depositing in a currency other than your account currency (EUR accounts are available in several EU countries);
• A $5 withdrawal fee on USD accounts (minimum withdrawal of $30);
• A $10 monthly inactivity fee after 12 months without logging in;
• Market (bid/ask) spreads.

Overall, eToro is a good choice for beginner investors looking for a simple way to start investing with a well-known broker. For more details, read our eToro review.

Founded in Amsterdam in 2008 and launched for retail investors in 2013, DEGIRO has become one of the most popular brokers in Europe, with over 3 million clients in 16 European countries. It is part of flatexDEGIRO, a German bank supervised by BaFin and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is not available outside Europe.

DEGIRO is best known for its low fees and wide selection of products. There are no deposit, withdrawal or inactivity fees. Since October 2025, its ETF Core Selection lets you trade over 1,000 ETFs, ETCs and ETNs on the Tradegate exchange for just the €1 handling fee, with no connectivity fee.

The platform is intuitive and fairly simple to use, even for beginners, and it also offers some more advanced options, such as different order types and interactive charts.

DEGIRO’s main fees are:

• ETF Core Selection: €1 handling fee per trade;
• Other ETFs: €3 per trade (€2 commission plus the €1 handling fee);
• US stocks: typically €2 per trade (€1 commission plus the €1 handling fee);
• Exchange connectivity fee: €2.50 per year for each exchange outside your home market (not charged on Core Selection trades on Tradegate);
• Currency conversion: 0.25% with AutoFX.

DEGIRO also has some drawbacks: there is no demo account, no fractional shares, no interest on uninvested cash and a limited offer of leveraged products. If you want to trade options and futures actively, Interactive Brokers or Saxo are probably more suitable.

For more details, read our DEGIRO review.

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is best known for its wide choice of CFDs and its simple platform. It also offers real shares through a separate account, Plus500 Invest.

The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is available in over 50 countries.

Its web platform (WebTrader) has an intuitive interface and is also available as a mobile app. There is also a free demo account to practise with virtual funds.

Plus500 offers accounts in 16 currencies, including USD, EUR and GBP. There is a currency conversion fee of up to 0.7% and a $10 monthly inactivity fee after three months without logging in.

Plus500 CFD fees come mainly from the buy/sell (bid/ask) spread, which varies across instruments, plus overnight funding on positions held open. On Plus500 Invest, you pay a commission per trade that depends on the exchange: from $0.006 per share for US stocks, and more for European stocks.

You can find more details about Plus500 CFD fees and Plus500 Invest fees on its website, or read our Plus500 review.

Founded in 1992, Saxo (formerly Saxo Bank) has been in business longer than all the brokers on this list except Interactive Brokers. It is now owned by the J. Safra Sarasin Group, which completed its acquisition in 2026. Saxo is known for its very wide range of products (over 70,000 instruments), access to more than 120 exchanges and a large choice of account currencies.

Saxo has always aimed at experienced investors, with advanced tools and TradingView integration. It has two main platforms: SaxoInvestor, a simpler app for long-term investing, and SaxoTrader, built for active traders.

Saxo has lowered its entry barriers in recent years: there is no minimum deposit on the Classic account and no inactivity fee. Saxo is not available in some big markets outside Europe, such as the US.

There are three account tiers: Classic, Platinum ($200,000 minimum) and VIP ($1,000,000 minimum), each with lower fees than the previous one. On US stocks and ETFs, commissions start at 0.08% on Classic, 0.05% on Platinum and 0.03% on VIP, with a minimum of $1 per trade.

The fee structure is fairly complex, and there are other costs to be aware of, such as a custody fee in some countries and a currency conversion fee on trades in other currencies. You can check the full fees for each product on Saxo’s website. In a nutshell, Saxo is tailored to experienced investors and may be more than the average investor needs, mostly because of its higher fees.

If you would like to know more, check out our Saxo review.